Gastroenterology

Patients who have experienced hemorrhage and sepsis seem to gain the most benefit from damage control procedures if the surgeon uses careful patient selection.

In his presentation, George Therapondos, MD, a hepatologist at the Ochsner Medical Center, detailed how to manage inpatients with cirrhosis that progresses to liver failure and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Primary prevention measures for upper GI bleeding should include NSAIDs, antiplatelet therapy, and anticoagulants appropriately, while secondary preventive measures should include testing and treating H. pylori and using long-term PPIs when appropriate.

Although 3-year survival and cancer recurrence rates are comparable for patients who have laparoscopic or open surgery at any stage of colon cancer, older patients who undergo a laparoscopic procedure have a significantly less likelihood of being admitted to a nursing home compared to those who have open surgical resection.

Case study presented at CHEST 2013 details the experience of a patient with hepatitis C who, after undergoing liver transplant, died after developing a serious lung infection and other complications.

With 10% of Americans contracting ulcers, pharmacists can be a valuable source of education for patients regarding the causes of peptic ulcer and the pros and cons of available treatments.

Study results show that SIRS on admission and at 72 hours after is associated with a higher incidence of pancreatic necrosis, an important risk factor contributing to death in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Two studies at the American College of Gastroenterology's 78th Annual Scientific Meeting analyzed the health outcomes of inflammatory bowel disease in the U.S. and Canada.

Steven P. Levine, MD, says the implications of altering the microbiome may extend beyond C. difficile to mental health, given the new insight into the connection between the gut and mind.

In a clinical review published in Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology, researchers from Iwate Medical University in Japan evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of the novel serotonin-receptor agonist ramosetron in patients suffering from diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).

Even when it's administered in a low-dose form that resists gastric acid and prevents tablet dissolution in the stomach, aspirin therapy causes peptic ulcer and increases the risk of 30-day mortality resulting from gastrointestinal (GI) disorder progression.

Research findings underscore the importance of testing peptic ulcer patients for H. pylori status.

Study shows gluten alters bowel functions in patients with IBS-D and that removal of gluten from the diet may reduce the frequency of bowel movements.

Recognizing that melatonin secretion from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract improves abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but decreases with age, Polish researchers from the Medical University of Lodz aimed to define the effect of administering melatonin in postmenopausal women with different predominating IBS symptoms.

Though it's common medical knowledge that an ulcer eating a hole through a patient's stomach requires immediate surgical treatment as a result of its life-threatening nature, new findings from a team of Danish researchers urge physicians to beat the clock in performing emergency surgery on perforated peptic ulcers (PPU).

A high-potency probiotic supplement that mimics the effect of morphine in the gut may reduce the development of visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) was shown to be more effective than taking the maximal proton pump inhibitor (PPI) dose in relieving heartburn, regurgitation, and other troublesome symptoms in patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Esophageal pH monitoring is more cost effective than the long-term use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), since it can help rule out gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD) and avoid the unneeded costs associated with prolonged medication therapy.

Andrew J. Muir, MD, MHS, said having more antiviral hepatitis C drugs in the pipeline could spur more people to accept treatment and improve patient outcomes.

Citing an increased risk of liver injury observed in recent clinical trials, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has limited Samsca (tolvaptan) treatment to 30 days and recommended the oral selective vasopressin V2-receptor antagonist be discontinued in patients with signs of liver disease or symptoms of liver injury.

Researchers claim that restricting dietary intake of fermentable short-chain carbohydrates improves GI symptoms in patients with IBS.

After noticing the ample adverse effects of second-line Helicobacter pylori eradication treatments that utilize tetracycline, furazolidone and proton-pump inhibitors, one group of gastroenterologists set to work adding a probiotic compound to the regimen in an attempt to increase the stomach bacteria's eradication rate while curbing those unwanted effects.

The stigma attached to chronic diseases such as IBS has been shown to negatively affect patients' self-image and sense of worth, leading to worse outcomes. Being aware of this and working to counteract the psychological effects of stigma can improve the patient-physician relationship and lead to better outcomes.

Data show that prevalence of concurrent IBS is actually higher in younger patients with OAB.

Researchers investigating the development of peptic ulcers in patients with liver cirrhosis reported that H. pylori is not the predominant etiology in this population.